Turkey and Azerbaijan are holding joint military exercises along Azerbaijan’s border with Iran, according to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense.
The Azerbaijani Trend news agency describes the exercises “as a clear message to the Iranian regime that uses the rhetoric of threats against Azerbaijan, demonstrating yet again the might and professionalism of the two fraternal countries’ armies.”
In October, Iran launched large-scale military drills on its border with Azerbaijan against a backdrop of heightened tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan stemming from Baku’s push for a so-called “Zangezur Corridor” linking Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhidjevan with mainland Azerbaijan.
Tehran has said it would oppose any attempt to block the border between Iran and Armenia.
The proposed route would run along the Araks River, which serves as the international border between Armenia and Iran. The river also forms a large part of the Iran-Azerbaijan border.